The glass strop

And you thought I had discovered some radically new way of stropping a straight eh, sorry not the case.

What was brought home to me today while stropping my two SRPs for the final phase of the Grand Experiment was I realized towards the end of the last phase each time I stropped the razors it felt as though I was stropping on glass, real slick and smooth. To you newbies thats just another indicator that the blade is not ready for shaving. Another indicator you can put in you bag of tests. Once the razors were honed up there was so much draw on the strop the razors were almost pulled out of my hand and thats the way it should be!

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

And you thought I had discovered some radically new way of stropping a straight eh, sorry not the case.

What was brought home to me today while stropping my two SRPs for the final phase of the Grand Experiment was I realized towards the end of the last phase each time I stropped the razors it felt as though I was stropping on glass, real slick and smooth. To you newbies thats just another indicator that the blade is not ready for shaving. Another indicator you can put in you bag of tests. Once the razors were honed up there was so much draw on the strop the razors were almost pulled out of my hand and thats the way it should be!

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I like it spender. love that drag!.. I thought you were going to talk about sharpening edges on the top of car windows. yep, it works.

Once the razors were honed up there was so much draw on the strop the razors were almost pulled out of my hand and thats the way it should be!

I get what you're saying about the good "draw" I feel when stropping a well-honed razor. Here's a question, though: when I get up to the 40th or 50th lap of pre-shave stropping, the draw has decreased and I'm getting closer to that "glass strop" feeling. After a shaving pass or two, if I do a touch-up stropping, the "draw" has returned.

Is it okay that a "good draw" decreases as I strop toward 60 laps? I could increase pressure to increase the draw, but that seems wrong: too much pressure, too hard on the fin edge.

Thanks,
Deepweeds

You don't ever want to apply pressure to the razor on the strop as it will mess up the edge (yea I know there are guys who say pressure is good). When I stropped today on SRP 39 for the experiment I gave it 100 passes. I had the same draw on the first pass as on the last. Make sure that as you strop your not doing something which is dulling the edge and thats why the passes are getting smoother and smoother. Try shaving after 4 or 5 passes and compare that with 60 passes and see if there is a difference. That will tell you whats happening.

Yea that is kinda unusual. With a good edge it should draw beginning to end. I only add pressure if the edge is not keen originally in order to create draw or if I've shaved with the blade more than 10 times and the edge is going. Once you add pressure you can restore the edge and keep going. Sometimes I find myself chasing a dulling edge with greater and greater pressure which quickly becomes foolish. Not only is draw a great indicator of sharpness but the amount of pressure you need to use to obtain it is probably an indicator of sharpness or bevel quality (I'm not sure which). I think Big is right, you must be dulling the blade. I'd cut back on the passes and work on slowing down.

My guess is that your thumb is touching the edge of the shank and pushing down on it.

I paid special attention to it this morning, and felt the draw lasting much better than I had before. Knowing that the draw should continue through each lap actually helps a lot.

I think one factor has been fatigue: I really try to keep tension on that hanging strop with my left hand (hand held still at my ribs, me leaning slightly back to keep the tension with my weight), and my right hand is still learning the proper movement. By 50-60 laps, both my hands are a bit cramped and becoming less sensitive. At best, this could make it harder to feel the draw properly; at worst, it could make me strop sloppily and really dull things down. As I get used to it and my right hand becomes more practiced, my sensitivity and accuracy will probably improve.

Thanks,
Brooke

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Originally Posted by deepweeds

I really try to keep tension on that hanging strop with my left hand (hand held still at my ribs, me leaning slightly back to keep the tension with my weight), and my right hand is still learning the proper movement.

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Rather than lean, you might get further along and less strained or stressed by thinking about your stance. A firm grounding can give you excellent controll and just as much strop tension without the muscle tension. Just a thought.

X

See? It's little nuggets like knowing roughly what a sharp razor is supposed to feel like on a properly dressed strop that keeps me coming back for more. :D I didn't know that until now. Thanks, guys.

I tried an experiment, and it worked (at least this one time). I had this razor (a Globemen 5/8) that was giving me fits. There were no issues with the razor itself, as it's a German-made Bergfeld & Sohn, and is near mint condition. No matter what I tried, I couldn't get it to pass the HHT. Anyway, I made a new strop 3-4 days ago, and used one of the first ones I made for this experiment. I dismantled it, using the D-rings and the Chicago screws for my new strop. I then used Metal-Glo polish (about the same as Maas), and coated the old strop with it. I let it dry, then attached it to the back of another of my strops, kinda like a linen strop. I did 30 round trips on the "pasted" strop, then 20 round trips on my new strop. The razor passed the HHT with ease! And I was using one of my kids' hairs, taken from a brush. Not that it's that interesting, but I thought I'd pass this along. Maybe it'll work for somebody else, too.

Well, strops, pasted or not should get even a barely sharp razor to pass the HHT though. It's coming off the hone and passing that matters.

X

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Originally Posted by xman

Well, strops, pasted or not should get even a barely sharp razor to pass the HHT though. It's coming off the hone and passing that matters.

X

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For some reason, that razor just doesn't want to. Out of the 38 razors I now have, that's the only one that's given me this problem. (Well an 8/8 Filarmonica, but I know why now).

Something I find myself doing with difficult razors is very frequently doing the TT & HHT, even after every pass sometimes just so can get a feel for how it's progressing. For Ed's Wostenolm I found a few 5/1 & 3/1 passes were what it liked believe it or not. Then it was good to go. Ed vouched for the edge too.

X

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Originally Posted by xman

Something I find myself doing with difficult razors is very frequently doing the TT & HHT, even after every pass sometimes just so can get a feel for how it's progressing. For Ed's Wostenolm I found a few 5/1 & 3/1 passes were what it liked believe it or not. Then it was good to go. Ed vouched for the edge too.

X

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Yes indeed. X was able to get that razor in shaving keen. It was giving me fits.
Ed

I think on some of the more difficult razors its just a matter of playing around with the honing formula. Sometimes if I'm having trouble I'll just end a honing session and pick it up a day or two later and it always seems to improve things. it must be the full moon or something.